Zutara One-Shot Collection
by Bluelady14
Summary: Previously titled 'Genetics'. Zutara One-Shots I'll be working on form time to time. Suggestions are welcome and sequels are a possibility.
1. Genetics

"I can't believe he gave me a B plus! I've worked so hard in his stupid English class" Katara practically yelled at Sokka.

She slammed her bag down beside her and slid onto the bench to enjoy lunch, which consisted of dried seaprunes and octopus.

"Can't help you there sis. I never had Mr. Jeong Jeong" Sokka responded nonchalantly.

He didn't understand why his sister got so worked up about grades. He had messed up on a few assignments and earned B's before. And yet, he was headed off to UCSB next year, one of the top engineering schools in the country. It was probably his natural charisma and charm at the interview he joked. Maybe Zuko would be willing to give Katara some tips. After all he was one of the few favorites Jeong Jeong ever had. He knew Zuko had a thing for his sister. At first Sokka had been furious with him, but later he changed his mind. In fact, he now favored Zuko over any of the other creeps pining for his baby sister. Even Aang did not meet his standards.  
Soon the rest of the gang showed up for lunch. First Aang and Toph came to the table, Aang bouncing around and Toph dragging her feet on the ground.

"Why so down Toph?" Sokka asked.

"My parents won't let me go to the game tonight."

"What?" Aang and Katara said in unison.

Aang looked over at her and blushed, but her focus was locked on the green clad girl in front of her. She didn't even notice that Suki and Zuko had joined them.

"Why won't they let you?"

"They don't want me to have a life." Toph responded sarcastically as she plopped into her usual seat.

"So what's the plan to sneak you out?" Sokka asked, wiggling his eyebrows deviously.

Toph leaned in and said, "The usual."

The group nodded and sat back to enjoy lunch.

Katara turned and saw Zuko sitting beside her.

"Oh Zuko. You're here." she exclaimed with a smile.

He blushed profusely and was unable to form the right words.

"Uh. Yeah. Why?"

"I wanted to ask you how in the world you got Mr. Jeong Jeong to like you?"

Zuko coughed reflexively to cover his disappointment.

"Well... I-I'm good at English?" he managed to get out before realizing what he just said.  
"I mean, I'm not sure how. But I can put in a good word. Err...for you?"

"You would? Thanks! She said sweetly, her hopeful eyes filled with happiness.

"Yeah. Sure."

Sokka nudged and winked at his blushing friend.

Zuko was about to retaliate when the bell rang.

"See you in Bio." Katara called to him as she ran off.

He sighed. She never gave him the chance to walk her to class like a true gentleman. She was always in a rush to be the first in her seat. Zuko hauled himself from the bench and casually walked to class. He spotted an angry Azula in the middle of the quad and opted to take the long way around to avoid any interaction with her. When he entered the classroom he was greeted by the usual sneer from Jet, as he passed the arrogant rebel's desk. Just as he reached his seat, the bell rang again. He slid into his chair and put his customary red earbuds in to close himself off from everyone. Zuko had always been good at keeping attention away himself, even with his scar and temper.

Katara watched Jet play with his lighter under his desk, and rolled her eyes in response.

"Hey Katara." Jet called out, noticing her attention was on him.

Mr. Moshi frowned, shushed the class then continued his lecture on Mendel's experiments with peas.

"What Jet?" she whisper hissed.

"Just wanted to let you know that I'm available now." he winked then flashed a sly smile. "I broke up with Azula. She was never as good as you were."

"Why should I care?" she said hotly.

Zuko watched her whispering back and forth with Jet and wondered what they were talking about. His thoughts turned bitter with jealousy at the attention she gave the jerk. He cranked up the volume to contain his anger.

"Miss Katara and Mr. Zuko. Since you are obviously not paying attention, we'll use you two as examples." he announced smugly. "If blue eyes are dominant over amber and Miss Katara is heterozygous, what are the chances that Miss Katara's and Mr. Zuko's children will have amber eyes?"

Both teens were mortified. Katara turned scarlet and Zuko grew pale. They looked to each other frantically as their classmates laughed.

After class people were still talking about the Punnet square they had nicknamed 'Zutara'.  
They avoided each other for the rest of the day. Even at the game, Katara made sure to sit on the opposite side of the group. Eventually Sokka and Suki wandered off for some couple time and Aang left to help Toph sneak back into her house, forcing the Waterbender and Firebender to interact.

"So I guess, there's a fifty-fifty chance we'll have a kid with amber eyes." Zuko tried.

Katara turned to him and smiled.

"I guess there is."


	2. Forever

He abruptly raised the flame so it was inches away from her face. He did his best to make her cower, to make her fearful of him again. He wanted her to leave, like everyone else had. Backed up against the wall there was no escape for her. Not that she wanted or had tried to run away. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. She showed no sign of unsettlement, no concern for her own safety. He frowned slightly but didn't move from his position. The air sparked with tension. Her defiant eyes darted to look at the flame then back up to lock with his. She gave him a tiny smile and whispered so he could barely hear.

"Zuko."

He let out an frustrated roar.  
Instead of responding with words, she deepened her gaze. He understood her silent challenge and felt his flame start to go out. She took the opening and gracefully placed her gentle hand on his wrist. She lowered his hand from her face with her hand.  
For a long while they stood like that. Her hand on his, eyes peering into each other's souls. He felt himself leaning in. He closed his eyes and collapsed into her.

The girl struggled to catch him, but he was still to heavy to support. So she guided his fall and he landed in her protecting arms. She waited for him to regain consciousness. She wondered how she had ended up tangled in this mess. She could have chosen any other man. She could have stayed with Aang. And yet she did not regret anything. She understood that the scarred man with her now was the one who made her happy. And that was worth all of the struggle she had gone through. She looked at the angry expression on his unconscious face and almost laughed. That expression used to scare her. He had been her enemy for so long. And now it made her smile. For she had learned to trust him. He stirred.

The man woke and struggled to remember where he was. Then he looked up.

"I-I'm so sorry Kat-"

"Shh. It's okay." she whispered softly.

He couldn't help but sob into her. All his anger was washing away with the tears that soaked her dress. She didn't mind, because she loved the man she was holding so tenderly in her arms. And he needed her support and comfort. So she pulled him closer and sang him her mother's lullaby.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. You have to believe me." he said desperately. His mind was already jumping to conclusions and he was afraid she would hate him again.

"You would never hurt me."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, sounding like a child.

"Because I trust you."

"More tears threatened to fall, so he tried to turn away from her. But she would not let him.

"Never be ashamed of your feelings, Zuko." she said firmly.

He remembered his mother had told him those same words a long time ago. And now she was gone. But he had Katara. He had found a new kind of love.

"Stay with me?" he asked weakly.

"Forever." she whispered.

He smiled and began to drift off to sleep.

"Forever."

**A/N:** So this is something I'm a bit cautious to post, but here it is. I wrote the first part with no idea which ship it would be, so thats probably why they're OOC. Not the best, but I wanted to get something up before the year ended :) Happy New Years!


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